Friday, October 3, 2008

Cheap Snacks

Hy-Vee is running a 3-day sale of some items at $1 each. One of the items is Chex Mix. Also, coupons.com has a $0.60 off coupon for Chex Mix. I printed off five of these and went to the store. So I got each bag at $0.40. When I got home, I transferred the contents of one bag into serving-sized Ziploc snack bags – five of them. So each serving is only 8 cents. That beats the 85 cent vending machine prices anyday!! I also got two 10-packs of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mixes at a dollar each! I love shopping with coupons – don’t you?

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Monthly Roundup - September

End of another month! This is the first month that I have not reached my Monthly Challenge goal, and I am upset about this. My goal for this month was $150, and I have reached $128.01 (85.34%).

Here's the summary:

$20.00 – Textbook Sale
$32.90 - Online Surveys
$11.07 - Coupon Savings
$62.30 - Amazon Sales
$1.74 - Interest
---------------------------------
$128.01 (Goal - $21.99)
---------------------------------

I am quite amazed at the amount I made using Online Surveys, although to be quite honest, some of the surveys were done a month or so ago, and I only got the money this month. Another area I am impressed by is “Coupon Savings”. I was a savvy shopper this month and stocked up on some things on sale and used coupons for these things as well. So that’s good. Although I did not actually reach my target goal, I think I am going to still have $150 as the goal for next month and see how it goes. Since I only was operating on a half month’s salary in September, all the challenge money goes towards my expenses, and nothing actually goes towards savings or debt elimination, but all in all, I still feel proud of myself.

My budget is another story altogether. I went over again this month – by $185.52. The main culprits were – losses at the casino, and when my sister was visiting, I paid for her gas, took her grocery shopping at Sam’s Club and treated her to a nice time out. I usually pamper my baby sister - she is a student too, and poorer than I am, so I don’t feel particular guilty about this. I also had very few no-spend days. Here are my “Pamper Account” details:

No-Spend Days: 8
Spend-Only Days: 13
Eat-Out Days: 9
Pamper account total: -$12 (including last month)

This is horrifying! My resolution for next month is: I will spend money ONLY on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (not including regular, fixed expenses such as rent etc.). My hope is that by holding off on getting something I want to buy until the weekends, I will be able to control my cash-flow better. I don’t know if I can actually pull this off, but I will try.

Scary ATM Recepits

I was at the ATM a few days ago to withdraw $10. I had very little money in my account and was struggling to make what I had last a few more days. As the machine was processing my request, I lazily picked up one of the receipts that someone had not bothered to take with them to indulge my voyeuristic curiosity. What I saw made my eyes pop. I would have $19.22 in my account once the ATM spat out my measly $10. The other person had $46,369.85. I would give a great deal to be able to say that receipt was mine! The difference is starker when you actually see the receipt, so after removing all possible identifying info (though there really is none on ATM receipts), here are the couple of receipts, for your viewing pleasure. Click to view them larger.


Monday, September 29, 2008

My Small ATM Scare and Why It Helps To Ask Anyway….

I was going to do laundry over the weekend and needed to get some cash to change into quarters for doing it, so I went to my local ATM. Now, my university directly deposits my monthly stipend into my checking account which is linked to my university ID card. So, at ATMs, I typically use my university ID instead of a checking card. It’s worked pretty well so far, but on Saturday, after I got my $10, and got to the laundromat, I realized that my id was missing – only about 3 minutes had elapsed and I hurried back. The parking lot at the ATM was empty and I was pretty sure no one had been there while I was gone. When I entered the booth, I didn’t find my card and assumed that the machine had reclaimed my card for safe-keeping. So I called the bank customer service to ask what needed to be done. The lady who answered told me that there was nothing she could do – the machine automatically shreds the cards, the cards are reported as lost and new cards are issued. I told her that it was my university ID that was lost, and she said that my university would have to reissue a card to me. I was quite disheartened – my ID works as a free bus pass, and a new one would cost $20. It all was quite depressing. Anyway I told her I’d call the branch office on Monday just in case. She said she was sorry, but she didn’t think it would do any good.

But I called… and apparently the machine does not shred the cards, and I can go there this afternoon and pick mine up. I’m glad I didn’t take the silly CS rep’s word for it and did ask. I saved myself $20 in new card fees. And, I have decided to make a mental note to make sure to check I’ve got my card back from the machine each time.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Lowest Checking Balance Ever!

Last night I checked my checking account balance online. I wanted to buy some groceries. I knew that my balance was running low, and wanted to check and see how much I could safely spend. Imagine my astonishment when I logged on and saw that my total checking account balance was $ 0.34! I had forgotten about my insurance auto-payment and was counting on there being at least $75 in there. I could have transferred money from my online HSBC savings account, but that would take a few days. So I decided not to buy anything last night, and to deposit all my online survey checks in the morning. I should also be getting $65.40 from a sale I made on Amazon. So, I am okay after all, but it is terribly scary seeing a balance of only a few cents in one's primary checking account. In the end, I did not go grocery-shopping, but instead went home and cooked stuff I had in my pantry - which was just as good.

Monday, September 15, 2008

I Am Bad At Budgeting

Here is a confession - I am horrible at budgeting!!! I think I have a very arrogant and stupidly positive view about my own self-control. I under-budget for a lot of categories every month and I seem to always go over. I thought I'd do a mid-month round up of where I am at:

Over budget by - $115.28 (I'll get about $30 of this back from a return eventually)

No-Spend Days: 3
Spend-Only Days: 6
Eat-Out Days: 5
Pamper account total: -$10.

Hmm... any idiot can see that I am doing it all wrong. !!GROAN!!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I Feel Financially Depressed

This is a sad, miserable post. Please do not read unless you wish to be depressed too!

I just updated my “debt-o-meters” sidebar and am struck by how slowly I am inching towards paying my debt off. Over the summer, I got paid fewer times and very irregularly, but I managed not to rake up more debt and save some money in my freedom account, but by the end of the summer I was exhausted. My August pay was only for half the month and most of my August snowflakes went towards paying my semester bill (my grad program pays for tuition, but I have to pay for misc fees which come up to approximately $350/semester). A few days ago, I looked at my pitiable bank balance and decided that I needed to dip into my savings account in order to survive the month. So, I transferred $150 from my HSBC account to my checking account. I am perilously near crossing my budget limit thanks to a shopping and casino trip with my sister (it was fun, but I lost at the casino). I know that I spent the money because of an unwise choice that I made, but it has been almost a year since I bought myself any new clothes.

I do make some sensible decisions too, but I feel that this adds to my depression. Take for instance the case of my housing. Early last year was when I started to become even remotely aware of my financial situation. For three years I had lived in a lovely apartment – not extremely expensive, but pricey enough for me to decide that I could not continue to live there anymore. I decided to find the cheapest apartment possible and send the savings towards my debt. I found such an apartment soon – they were the cheapest rooms in town. I would have a large living room, a cupboard-sized space for a bedroom (space enough for a bed and night-stand and nothing else), and a large kitchen. All utilities paid except internet. The downside – the rooms were in the basement of a prehistoric house, I had to share the restroom (no tub, just a shower stall) with another inhabitant of the other side of the basement, no laundry facilities on-site, the basement also turned out to be much damper than I had imagined it would be. Pretty miserable conditions really. I might have found a roommate for a better apartment, but having had some quite negative experiences with roommates before, I decided not to. Anyway, I was saving a large chunk of money, and I was willing to put up with the crappy apartment. I moved in. A month later Murphy struck and my car (which was an old old old piece of junk) died. I decided to invest in a much newer car, took out a loan and guess what? The difference in my rent just about covered my car payment – so a year and a half later, there hasn’t been even a fraction of the movement that I had hoped to see in my debt-reduction. But I am okay with that – I have a lovely car that I can use for another ten years at the very least.

And then something happens to depress me even further - I stayed a couple of days at a friend’s place last week and simple luxuries such as a bathtub, and a bedroom with space for a TV in it, a window that actually lets some light in, ceilings that I cannot touch even if I tried to, and other such things made me want to move right out of my crappy apartment. In a year’s time, I will be off on internship and will be making more money. I could stop trying so hard and allow myself a bit more luxury right now. I make and save so little right now that in the long run all this frugality is only going to knock off 5-6 months off my debt-reduction payment. I show all the signs of depression in the financial area of my life – I feel hopeless, stuck, tired, frustrated and angry (with myself more than anyone else). I wish dearly that I could somehow fast-forward a year of my life!!!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I Successfully Passed My Qualifiers

Two weeks ago, I took my Ph.D. qualifying exams. In my department, this is a day-long (8 hr) written examination - 5 essay questions. I am a BIG procrastinator and although I had been collecting prep materials all summer, I only actually studies for two weeks. This was an extremely stupid and dangerous thing to do since the questions could be asked on absolutely ANY area of psychology (my major). However, I did some real heavy-duty studying those last two weeks and felt okay about my answers the evening of the day I took them. But I still was trying not to hope for too much since I was horribly under-prepared. However, on Saturday my major professor called me to congratulate me on passing my exam. I am ecstatic!!! I still don't know how much I scored on each question, but I don't really care - I passed, and that is all that is required to make me an official Ph.D. candidate so that I can go on to work on my dissertation.

What does this have to do with finances? For me, quite a lot actually. A couple of years ago, my major professor went on a year long sabbatical. The procrastinator that I am, I took this as an excuse to not do any research at all. As a result, other than classes and clients, in all other areas, I am about a year behind my cohort members. In order to go on internship and graduate on schedule, I need to propose my dissertation by Oct 15th. This would not be possible unless I passed my qualifiers. Had I failed, I would be stuck here a year longer - meaning very low pay for another year and postponing debt repayment and savings for a whole year!!! That is another reason I am thrilled to have passed. Now if only I can get my proposal done in a month!!! Wish me luck!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Monthly Challenge - August

I have reached and surpassed my third Monthly Challenge goal of $400.

Here's the summary:

$50.00 - Rent Reduction
$200.00 - New Tenant Bonus
$12.40 - Online Surveys
$60.57 - Amazon Sales
$12.00 - Old Navy Refund
$50.00 - Cell Phone Rebate
$6.30 - Piggy Bank Coins
$13.50 - Won at the Casino
$0.75 - Coupon Savings
$30.00 - Craigslist Sales
$49.00 - English Partner
---------------------------------
$484.52 (Goal + $84.52)
---------------------------------

P.S. I may have reached my snowflake goal, but was nerly $200 over my August budget - I think I live in some fantasy land when it comes to budgeting!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Temptations...

Although living frugally, saving money in all kinds of places, making money from little sidestreams of income, paying off all my bills and watching my savings account grow is wonderful, I am beginning to feel a definite temptation to spend. This is not to say that I do not occasionally treat myself. And I certainly do not cut out all the pleasures of life and live like a pauper. But, I do feel like going out and spending a long day shopping, or moving into a larger apartment which has a washer/dryer within the apartment itself, or taking a week-long trip to someplace exotic without worrying about how much I was going to spend there - all things that I probably will do eventually, but cannot afford to just now. It is having to wait that hurts so much.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Weekend Update

I had an okay weekend money-wise. I am about a $100 over budget this month (I am awful at calculating how much I think I will spend on things). I did sell a piece of furniture on Craigslist for $25, and got paid $49 by my old English partner. I also bought groceries, did laundry and went out with friends. Points to be proud about: only FOUR eat-out days this month. And only a deficit of $1 in the pamper account.

School starts tomorrow. This means less time for myself. It also means many more hours of work and more pay. However, starting September, I'll pay the full rent again. No more automatic $50 towards the Monthly Challenge. So, my Challenge goal for next month is only $100.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

My Points @ MyPoints

The postman delivered an envelope from MyPoints today – inside was a $10 gift card for Bath and Body Works. A couple of weeks ago, I had redeemed 1400 points for this gift card, and I must say that it has arrived sooner than I expected. And it comes at a good time too – I have a coupon from B&BW for a free $12 product with any purchase of $10 or more that expires in another week. So I’ll be out shopping for some fragrant goodies come this Saturday. I briefly considered redeeming a Wal-Mart gift card because groceries and food is where I could use a few more dollars, but I figured that I’d cherish some my MyPoints pillow mist or body lotion more than some MyPoints tomatoes or eggplants. And it’ll last longer too.

I am quite excited about online surveys and rewards programs. Since the beginning of June I have received $64.60 in checks and gift cards from my participation in them. Long live the internet!!!

P.S. Should I snowflake my $10 earnings from MyPoints? Since I received a gift card that cannot be redeemed for cash, I will have to use it and spend the $10. Since I was not planning on actually making any purchases, I am not really technically “saving” any money that I can snowflake either. Hmm… What do you think? Should I snowflake this amount or not?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Paying at Pay-Phones

I did not think there were many people who used pay-phones these days. Almost everyone has a cell phone or a land line or in most cases, both. However, as I waited for the bus these past two days, I noticed both times that someone was using the pay-phone close by. I wonder why... My over-active imagination is saying that it's people having affairs arranging clandestine meetings and not wanting to leave a trail back to their own phones. Or maybe some other kind of exciting secret mission maybe? I am surrounded by people who have fun and use pay phones. And I have a lousy cell phone. :-(

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Spending Challenge and More Snowflaking Ideas

Thus far in August, I have had three no-spend days, three days of eating out, and seven spend-but-no-eating-out days. In order to motivate myself to cook and eat more at home as well as to spend less in other ways, I have decided to provide myself with a monetary incentive. I have created a new “Pamper Myself” sub-account. For each no-spend-eat-at-home day, I will give myself $2. For each day I eat out, I will take out $2 from the pamper account for snowflaking. And for each day I spend money that’s not eating out, I’ll cut the account by $1. This will definitely encourage me to plan and lump my shopping expeditions together instead of going to the grocery store every time I need some small item. At the end of each month, I will calculate and deposit the money into the “Pamper…” sub-account. If the amount is in the negative, I’ll snowflake it. If I do end up having some money in the “Pamper” account, this money can be used by me at any time with the following stipulations:

1. The money SHALL NOT be used for eating out.
2. The money SHALL NOT be used to buy dull stuff like groceries.
3. The money shall be spent ONLY on myself and not on others.

I think I know what I shall do with it: I probably will revive my suspended Netflix account first (I shall have to fight this urge until January since this coming semester I need to focus on research and internship applications among other things. Netflix only encourages me to procrastinate. I get more done when I am too lazy to go in person to the redbox or library.) Also, I shall buy myself an iPod Shuffle to replace my iPod Nano which I stupidly ruined – that will encourage me to get out and walk more – another one of my goals. I am sure I shall not run out of ideas about what to pamper myself with. I have -$7 in this account right now. :-(

P.S. Another snowflaking idea I saw on some PF blogs is to snowflake any amount saved using coupons. I have to get some milk tomorrow and have a coupon for $0.75 off. So, this snowflake category will kick off tomorrow!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A Shocking Realization

Starting August, I have started to keep track of the days when I eat out and/or spend money in any way. What I observe is quite shocking. This month, I have spent money on all but two days. And those two days happen to be the days when I did not venture out of my home. So, every time I step out of my house, I end up spending money. This is quite insane!!! No wonder I am broke and in debt. The next couple of months look lean – until I get a full month’s pay at the end of September. So, I have resolved to try harder not to spend my money so frequently. Here is the tally so far for August:

Eating Out: 2 Days
Spending Money: 7 Days
No-Spend Days: 2 Days

I’m rather proud of the small number of eating out days. :-)

Over the weekend, I went to the casino with a friend. Now, I don’t have any money to spare, but my friend was all excited about going and the enthusiasm was very contagious. I had just returned some stuff to the supermarket and received about $20. I decided that that would be my limit. Here is an account of my thrilling $20 gambling spree: We started at the craps tables, where I placed two bets and lost both in succession. Then I hurriedly moved to the roulette tables, where the money in hand fluctuated between $5 and $35. I eventually left the table with $30 to return again to the craps tables where I again held at various times coins in the range of $5-$40. Eventually, I withdrew my original investment of $20, and decided to place the rest on the table to either win or lose. The dice rolled a 4 first, and then a 4 again more than doubling my money. Overjoyed, I withdrew the whole thing and cashed out. Just before heading out, I lost a dollar on the quarter slots. I had made a net profit of $39. No such luck for my friend. To cheer her up, I took us both to dinner - $25.50 in all. My profits for the evening - $13.50 which I am snowflaking. This brings me to reach this August’s monthly challenge amount of $400.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

August, So Far…

Since my assistantship contract at work starts only on the 15th of August, I’ll have only half a month’s pay at the end of August. I sat down and tallied the expected income and expenses. It’s a horrifying looking spreadsheet. However, I have decided to make a few changes. I am not sending any money towards savings this month, I shall use my snowflake and extra income money to pay for the semester fees and keep the rest in my checking account to tide me over till the end of September. If I am frugal and stick to my budget, I will manage to scrape by without digging into my savings. We’ll see how that goes…

So far, I have not had a single no-spend day this month. However, I only have had one evening of eating out. Taking stock of my pantry definitely helped in terms of planning meals. The pity of it is sometimes I don’t want to eat what is in my pantry. I’ve been busy cooking. I went and bought the silicone baking mats I wanted ($10.63 at Wal-Mart). So, yesterday was baking day – I made raspberry scones and sundried-tomato biscotti from ingredients I had at home. Also, a friend of mine gave me a HUGE bunch of basil that she grew in her garden. I kept a chunk of it to use as garnish, on pizzas and to add to bruschetta topping, and made pesto with the rest. And then, I used up a lot of the pesto in a HUGE batch of olive-artichoke-pesto-pasta (in order to use up more stuff I had at home but was not using). And I made some delicious Baba Ghanouj (using up an eggplant and half of the tahini I have in my fridge), and a large batch of pita chips. So all in all it was a good couple of days of cooking – at least it prevented me from going out to eat! Tonight, I picked up a bread machine from a fellow freecycler. I have never used a bread-machine before, but hopefully I will be able to make fun breads with the machine and use up more of the various flours I have at home.

On a sadder note, it looks like I will not be able to continue with the English speaking partner any more. We met for about a week and then our schedules started to clash. And it now looks like our semester schedules don’t match either. Oh well… maybe some other opportunity will pop up somewhere.

Monday, August 4, 2008

How I Saved $56.12 on Hand Soap

I am feeling rather proud of myself – my second day of well planned purchases. I planned my purchase for today around sales and used coupons. Bath & Body Works has its hand soap sale going on (5 for $15, or 7+ for $20). I love their hand soaps – especially their aromatherapy ones (originally $6). Unfortunately these are not antibacterial, but they smell absolutely heavenly, and I usually grudgingly shell out the $6 to buy them. Anyway, today I had my revenge. I got 10 of them for $1.85 each. How? Well, let me tell you. :-)

I had filled out a survey for them which gave me a code for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more. I also had a coupon for a $12 signature product free with any $10 purchase. So, I got 10 aromatherapy hand soaps, and a Velvet Tuber Rose Body Cream (originally $11). That’s a total of $75.97 including taxes. When you throw in the sale prices, that comes down to $42.27 after taxes. Enter my discount code, and the total is $31.57. Add the coupon for free body cream, and the final price of the lot is $19.85 including tax. That’s ten hand soaps at $1.85 each and a large free tube of body cream. The price of each bottle of this hand soap is now cheaper than a comparable bottle of SoftSoap.

All that being said, it will take me quite a while to get through my assortment of hand soaps now. I think I’ll be okay for hand soap for at least a year and half given that I live alone and use the soap only in the kitchen and one bathroom. I briefly considered snowflaking my whopping savings of $56.12, but since I don’t usually go about buying 10 bottles of hand soap at a time, I decided not to. Also, since summer funding is meager, I can use that money for groceries and other basic essentials.

P.S. Unfortunately, I have had no no-spend days in August thus far. However, I’ve only eaten out one day. Let’s hope that the next week will be a no-spend, or minimal-spend one.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

How I Saved $24.84 on Kitchen Utensils

I had a good day of shopping today. I feel good about all the purchases I made (mostly on excellent sales), but I feel best about my purchases at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I walked in to purchase a can opener, but ended up not since they did not have what I wanted. Instead, I made a good purchase of a 11” covered non-stick chef pan (originally $19.99), and an expandable over-the-sink strainer (originally $14.99). That’s a total of $37.08 after taxes. However, I used the store sales leaflet for a coupon of $10 off $30, and a mail coupon I received for 20% off one item to bring the total down to $22.24 after taxes. I also received a mail-in rebate coupon for $10 for the chef pan. So, that’s a total of $12.24 after the rebate (which has already been mailed off). A net savings of $24.84! I hadn’t originally intended on buying these two items today, but I have been on the lookout for a good, affordable stainless steel over-the-sink strainer for some time now, and one can never have too many chef pans. And now I can use my savings to go and buy two things I really need, but did not want to splurge on - a really fancy smooth-edge can opener for $14.00, and a pair of silicone baking sheets for $11.00. YIPEE!!!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Monthly Challenge - July

End of July! I have reached and surpassed my second Monthly Challenge goal of $150.

Here's the summary:

$50.00 - Rent Reduction
$69.01 - Amazon Sales (-S&H)
$18.92 – Pay Per Post
$23.30 - Online Surveys
$120.00 – Research Participation
$35.00 – Craigslist Sales
---------------------------------
$304.13 (Goal + $154.13)
---------------------------------

Since I found a new tenant for the other apartment in the house I live in, my landlady has given me $200 off my rent next month. Since this already surpasses my $150 challenge, I shall raise my August challenge to $400. I hope I reach it! This money will go towards paying for Fall semester miscellaneous fees at my university.

Budget Slip-Ups and August Goals

I went over my budget much more this month (+ $146.17) than last month (+ $27.25). The main culprit areas were: Groceries (+ $74.49), Eating Out (+ $27.81), and Misc (+ $50.80). I really must be better about my budget than I am right now. Especially impulse grocery purchases (though I have a pantry full of stuff that needs to be used up), and impulsive eating out when I am too lazy to cook.

I spent a good three hours today reorganizing my kitchen and pantry and taking stock of all the food I have at home – all cleanly entered and color-coded in Excel. I know… it seems mad, but it will prove very useful the next few months. I am amazed at how much stuff my small pantry holds! I am even more amazed at some of the things I purchased. No doubt at some point I thought I was going to cook and eat these things, but they were stupid purchases anyway. I will have to be very creative the next few months, and I am not looking forward to it, but it will be fun to restock once I have used up a lot of this stuff.

Here are my goals for August:
• I’m going to halve my grocery and eating out budget to guilt myself into cooking more at home and using up supplies that I already have.
• Stick to the budget as much as possible.
• Maximize my snowflakes and send it towards paying my semester university fees (my tuition is paid for by my department, but the miscellaneous fees are not). This would be approx. $330 for the whole semester.
• Talk w. payroll and see if my extra pay (for the 5hrs/wk I am working on a grant application for my professor) can be sent separately directly to another account so I can use it for internship applications and/or travel expenses to India at the end of this year. If they can’t do this, set it up myself through the bank.
• List more stuff on Craigslist and Amazon, and hope it sells.

Friday, July 25, 2008

I Love Craigslist

I pulled out a bunch of stuff I was not using and snapped some pictues and posted them on Craigslist yesterday. I have already got one buy (a set of baking pans for $5.00) and three more potential buys. Isn't it fun? Most things were small, but I also had a couple of pieces of furniture that I don't really need. I think the key is to post pictures on there too.

I've had a couple of no-spend days in the past week. My challenge of cooking at eating at home is working fine. I made some parsley-oregano pesto last night and tossed it into some rotini pasta with some garlic, olives, artichokes, dried pepper flakes and romano cheese. It was delightful. But today and tomorrow, I am lunching out with friends. My budget is looking awful right now.... all negative numbers.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

New Source of Income Confirmed

I talked in the last post about the possibility of generating some income as an English speaking partner for an international student. I met with her - she is sweet. We've agreed to meet 2hr/day 4x/week @ $7/hr. That's $56/week. Isn't that nice? More money towards savings and debt-reduction!

Money, Money and....

I feel that I should start labeling my posts “More Money 1”, “More Money 2” and so on. Since I started getting serious about my savings and debt-repayment, I have kept an eye open for new avenues of generating income. I would love to take a secondary job and generate some regular income. However, since I am a graduate student working hard on qualifiers prep and my dissertation proposal at the moment, I don’t have too much time to spare to work any decently paying second hand job. So I look around here and there for small scraps of work that I can do without too much effort or travel. And I have been incredibly lucky in finding a bit of money here and there. Here are a few sources of income that are either coming in soon or that I am considering right now.

1. My friend whose dog I pet-sat last month is going out of town again with her family and asked me if I would pet-sit again Thu-Sat. Yay! That’s another $25 coming in.
2. I saw a note in one of the university buildings for an English speaking partner for an international student. Two hrs/wk @ $7.00/hr. I called, and she and I have agreed to meet today and see if this is something that we would like to do.
3. An additional 5 hrs of research assistantship/wk in the Fall semester.
4. I found a new tenant for my landlady for the room next-door. According to an agreement that I had with my landlady, she will now give me $200 off the next month’s rent.
5. Selling more stuff on Craigslist and Amazon.
6. Any other ideas???

That’s all that I have right now. Most of them are very small income generators. I do keep an eye out, but money is hard to come by – especially in a small college town, and especially in the summer. I would appreciate any other ideas about what to do and where to go to look for more money!

P.S. Yesterday, I participated in the simulation research study. They are going to pay me $120 that will be added to my payroll. I won’t get it at the end of this month – too late for that. Also, they will probably take part of it out in taxes, but I think I shall still count it as a whole $120 this month towards my monthly snowflake challenge.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

No Secret

I was, and probably still am very skeptical about the “Law of Attraction”. I think it’s an over-exaggeration to say that if you are always positive, you can make anything you want come hurtling through the universe to you. However, I do concede that having a positive frame of mind and a positive approach to things leaves your mind open to new ideas and prevents inertia or hopelessness to take over. For the past few months I have been very focused on money – making more, saving more, and spending less. The latter two are more easily accomplished than the first – making more money. However, I have seen that once I start looking for money, it seems to just come to me.

I got an email from one of the advisory staff about joining a simulation study that they do each year. It’s a whole day’s work, and they’d pay me $120/-. Needless to say, I signed myself up. So on Tuesday, I will receive $120 more to add towards my snowflaking efforts. YAY!

P.S. I just met my second monthly challenge - and with this simulation study and a few more things, I think I might just be able to even double it!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

My Yard Sale...

... was a complete washout. I sold a few things on Friday which just covered the advertising cost. But on Saturday, once I had set everything out and was ready to do some business, it rained cats and dogs and a lot of my stuff got wet, and no one came to buy anything. I'll list a few items on Craigslist and freecycle, but am terribly disappointed in how the whole thing turned out. On the plus side, I met a few interesting people who came browsing. I also got a free advertisement coupon when I placed my ad, but I don't think I am going to place another ad for a garage sale since I am not sure I want to have one anymore.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Art of Frugal Gift Giving

There is a Goodwill store next to the bus-stop where I board my bus from. I was several minutes early today and decided to get out of the heat and humidity and look through some of the store’s offerings. I have found several barely-used, wonderful items at thrift stores. Today, I spotted a seemingly brand-new book of cocktails, that I picked up for a cocktail-crazy friend’s birthday (in September). The total price - $0.89. :-)

I like to receive gifts – and I like to give them too. I am always giving things to people – usually my little sister, but to others too. And most of them aren’t fancy or pricey. I give things to people at random times – it does not always have to be a birthday or anniversary. For example, while I sell my used textbooks on Amazon, I give away lots of the fiction books that I read (they don’t fetch any money on resale). I know a friend who is as voracious a reader as I am – and she is always excited at receiving a “new” book. I am constantly picking up other things too – pots left by the curbside for a gardening friend, coupons that I don’t use for another frugal friend, and so on. And most of the fun gifts I have given and received aren’t too pricey. Here are a few tips for frugal gift-giving:

If you can, make it – Gifts that are made by hand – handmade cards, crafts and so on, offer a double serving of joy to the receiver – firstly, any handmade gift is unique and one-of-its-kind. And secondly, there is no doubt that if you spent enough time, effort and energy to make something, you most definitely care. I try and make things that I myself enjoy – mostly jewelry or crocheted items. I have fun making them, and a packet of beads or a roll of yarn is delightfully cheap too.

Keep an ear open at all times – I often hear people saying, “I don’t know what to get her – I never know what she would like.” I rarely run into this problem because I keep my ears open. People will often inadvertently tell you about things that they like and enjoy and would want – a friend of mine is always saying how her shoulders ache – a perfect person to gift a massage to. My sister is always shopping – she’s a perfect person to give a gift card to. I keep a notebook in which I jot down things when people give me these hidden hints. Come birthday, anniversary or Christmas time, I get my notebook out and know what to give them. Knowing what you could give someone can help avoid last minute expensive gift-buying or splurging on something that the receiver would probably not use.

Keep and eye open at all times – Most times, the gifts I give are not bought right before I give them. I sometimes pick up gifts months in advance if I see a good deal – like the cocktail book from this morning. Or at a garage sale or store close-out. However it is also important to remember that you have bought people something. I have a “gift shelf” where I store anything that I have bought intended as a gift. Periodically, I’ll clean out my home and place things that I want to give away on this shelf too.

Your gift does not need to cost any money – Some of the best gifts are free. For instance, I offer to babysit friends’ children while the couple has a fun night out. I offer to drive my sister to the mall, carry her bags and help her shop although I despise long shopping trips – and she loves the company and my perspective. I once donated a vacation day to a grieving co-worker, and was astonished at how touched he was. Time, effort and energy don’t cost a great deal – but can be heartwarming. I believe that the best gift that one can give another is just “help” – through any small way.

It was my birthday last Thursday, and the best gift I received was a boxful of second-hand books purchased at the library sale for $5. Frugal – and fun! Happy frugal gift-giving!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

PayPerPost Paid!

I got my first payment from PayPerPost. $18.92. I don't think I am getting any more payments from them though, because I don't seem to qualify for any of their opportunities. If I had a non-blogger URL, I might. We'll see.

Other news... I'm holding a yard sale this weekend. I spent $20 on advertizing it and getting the signs, labels etc. I hope to take $100 bringing my profit to $80. That is the goal, at least - we'll see what happens. Wish me luck.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

June Budget Roundup

I've got to rush, so I'll make this quick. My June budget was was $27.25 over budget. While this is not too alarming, I did go over on two categories.

Groceries - over by $50.44
Eating Out - over by $48.43

Since I saved over $75 in my Misc category, I didn't go over by too much - maybe I need to re-evaluate my budget!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Monthly Challege - June

June has ended, and thankfully I have reached, and even surpassed my first Monthly Challenge goal of $150.

Here's the summary:

50.00 - Rent Reduction
48.77 - Amazon Sales (-S&H)
15.00 - Gas Grill
25.00 - Dog-sitting
19.00 - Online Surveys
35.00 - Found Cash
---------------------------------
$192.77 (Goal + $42.77)
---------------------------------

Random Thought: What I Am Grateful For

I am grateful that I have been forced to become financially aware when I am at my lowest earning power. I know that any job after I graduate will only bring in more than the $13,500/year that I earn now. If I was to run into financial trouble proportionate to this at my highest earning power, I know I would be experiencing hell. Thank God for this wake up call – being more financially aware now than I have ever been before, I can now plan my finances in a way that will allow me to dig myself out of this hole, and save for a wonderful youth and career, and a safe and comortable retirement.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

What This Site (and I) Will Not Be

I was re-reading through parts of Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover” before I returned it to the library, and a testimonial caught my eye that had irritated me at first, and irritated me a lot more the second time around. It was about a young couple who scrimped and saved and lived an impoverished life for a long time until they were able to save enough money for a 100% down-payment on a home. I think that planning on paying a 100% down on a home is admirable, but I don’t think that a young and just-married couple should cut out everything but the bare necessities and deprive themselves of almost every bit of sensory pleasure in order to buy a house all-out sooner. Can a lovely honeymoon enjoyed in the first flushes of conjugal love be completely recaptured by a vacation one takes after several years of what appeared to me to be a majorly financial partnership? I think not. It apparently worked for the young couple in question, but I am sure it will not work for me.

And so, I think it is time that I decided what I will and will not do in my journey towards financial freedom. I will definitely be frugal – as frugal as I comfortably can be. I don’t think I believe in never treating myself to anything nice, eating all my meals at home, buying only low-quality clothes, food etc. I will be young only once, and I plan on enjoying myself as much as I can. I know I have wasted a big chunk of my youth incurring debts that I will take a few years to pay off. But I will not deprive myself of the rest of it. I’ll take a few cuts, sure… but I’ll do so without turning into a miser. My answer to the $40 wines I used to buy shall not be drinking water for seven years, but rather shall me the $10 bottle of wine which has been marked down to $8. I shall not replace my hitherto expensive vacations with a no-travel policy, but shall rather plan for shorter vacations, and save the cash for them before I do any of the spending.

And my blog will reflect the same – I shall talk not just about how I make and save, but also about how I spend my money – in frugal albeit fun ways. This is not going to be a blog that talks about how to cut out all expense and live on a shoestring budget, how to manage not eating out in four months, and so on. If you choose to live so, please do. I can afford not to because I know that in a few years time, I will be earning many times more than I am now. I also am able to completely forgo things that have been unnecessary frills in order to splurge on my own special indulgences. I also know that it is essential that I enjoy my financial awareness for it to last any length of time.

What do you think? Should I be cutting out all expense in order to get out of debt? Or is my more lenient approach okay too?

The Difference Financial Awareness Makes

Last year at this time (mid-summer), I was completely broke, and had already run up an additional $1000 in credit card bills. This year, I have $2200 to spend in my checking account. Why such a dramatic difference? This has happened purely because I am more aware of my own financial situation now, and have been taking steps to prevent sinking to rock bottom like I did last year. Let me tell you why I was broke last year….

I am graduate student on a 9-month contract. Summer funding, usually in the form of teaching or research assistantships is extremely difficult to come by in my department, and even when it does, is terribly meager. Summer work even outside the department is extremely difficult to come by. There are a few reasons for this: I live in a college town, which reduces in size in the summer to about one-fourth its original population. This creates a dearth of employment opportunities. But also, because most of the people who do stay in town are usually looking for employment, including the high-school students and summer partiers looking to fund their weekend booze, there is increased demand for employment. The result of this depressing trend is that any job that I do land is usually not worth the money. This summer more than ever, I need to be aware of how I spend my time since I take my massive Ph.D. qualifying exams in mid-August and need to schedule intensive studying for as much time as I can. Last year, although I did land a summer research assistantship, it paid only $1300 after taxes for the whole summer. That is how I came to be broke, and running up credit card debt. This had been my story the past few years as well, but I was engaged at that time, and my fiancé who earned many times as much as I did usually covered my summer expenditure.

However, this has not been the case this summer. Let’s take a look:

What has not changed?
• Summer employment opportunities still remain pitiably low.
• I still don’t have any savings (greater than $100).

What has added on to the financial burden this year?
• I have an additional monthly payment of $210 for a newer car.
• In March I took a two-week long break from work and went on a long road trip that cost me almost $2000, which I could have used for summer money. However, I am glad I took this trip since it provided me with some much needed travel and relaxation, and has been pivotal in keeping me sane. It also was a period of self-exploration that turned out to be priceless.

What changed? Well, for one, over this past year, I have become very aware of my finances. This affected all the following points:
• I moved to a much smaller, much crappier (but still inhabitable) basement studio apartment in a dilapidated old house to save money – the savings are not much, but are just short of my monthly car loan installments, so I don’t place any additional strain on my wallet.
• I have stopped raking up additional credit card debt, and consequently my monthly payments are lower.
• I was as frugal as comfortably possible during the non-summer months and paid off a few credit cards with smaller balances.
• I transferred balances to low APR% credit cards to avoid finance charges.
• I negotiated with my landlady to do maintenance work around the house in lieu of $50 off monthly.
• I use public transport as much as possible to save on gas.
• I cook more at home to save on food expenses.
• I use more coupons and shop for deals (this doesn’t happen a great deal, but has definitely saved me about $10 over the past two months).
• I gave up my Netflix subscription, and began using the public library (always free), and Redbox (almost always free – see promo codes in the right-sidebar of this blog), saving me about $15/month ($17 Netflix subscription – Approx $2 for Redbox when I run out of promo codes).
• I began this blog (late in the year, but I had been journaling off and on before I began blogging) to keep me motivated and accountable.
• I made a budget each month, and tried to stick to it. I almost never succeeded, but the budgets saved me from going too over the top and definitely saved me a few hundred dollars.
• I made a separate summer budget knowing that my income each summer month would be different, so I ended up not spending everything in my checking account by the end of the month. The money I now have in my checking account has to be carefully used over the next three months when my monthly income will be much smaller than it has been these past two months.
• I have become more comfortable asking for discounts and jobs, and have been greatly amazed at how often I seem to get what I ask for when I do ask.
• I negotiated with my department, and competed with a lot of other students for a higher paying summer assistantship (approx. $1850 over the summer).
• Additional Income: I lobbied (read begged) for, and got additional summer funding with a different department (approx. $1200 over the summer).
• Additional Income: I sold books I no longer need on Amazon.
• Additional Income: I sold a few household objects off on Craigslist.
• Additional Income: I joined and completed online surveys for cash.
• Additional Income: I pet-sat for a nominal fee.

Isn't it wonderful what being financially aware and responsible can do? I don't think I am ever going back to the old me!

What’s in My Wallet?

In the spirit of being open about my finances, I have decided to post what’s in my wallet. This post was inspired by one of those CapitalOne commercials which feature hordes of club-wielding, bloodthirsty, yet financially-informed Huns running amuck in modern-day American cities.

My wallet itself is a fairly unimpressive resin affair that I got from the cohort ahead of me in my graduate program at a “Welcome the New Cohort” party four years ago. It features the school mascot stamped into the resin, and has one-fold, both sides of which are held together with Velcro. In addition, it features a see-though plastic pocket on the front, a see-through plastic pocket inside the fold, an opaque pocket on the other side of the fold, and over this opaque pocket, a little zipper pocket for change. I am quite impressed that this little wallet, which probably did not cost more than $8 – and even that only because of the school logo that makes merchandise wickedly expensive, has survived without too much damage in four years of daily use. I used to use a much prettier and better-quality, but also much bulkier Nine West wallet that I replaced for two reasons: I wanted something smaller to carry in my bag, and unlike the current wallet, the old one did not have a see-through front opening that allowed me to flash my ID to the bus-drivers and I hated getting the card out every time I boarded a bus. So, here goes… this is what’s in my wallet:

See-through front pocket:
University ID (also acts as free bus-pass)
Driver’s License
Magnetic key for access to office
2 Coupons for: Swiffer, Febreeze

See-through inside pocket:
Public Library Card
Vehicle Insurance Card Duplicate
Medical Insurance Card
Spare Check (just in case I need a check)
Credit Union Membership Card
Borders Gift Card (approx. $15 balance)
Walgreens Gift Card (approx. $25 balance)
Target Gift Card (approx. $6 balance)
Walmart Shopping Card (approx $150 balance)
Advanta Mastercard
USBank Visa Debit Card
Bills that I have not entered in my keep-track .xls file
Post-it with Redbox Promo Code (see right sidebar)

Opaque inside front pocket:
On-going grocery list
3 coupons for Scotch Envelopes (handy for mailing Amazon sales)
1 Best-Buy coupon for 10% off in-store purchase
2 Hy-Vee pizza punch cards that I NEVER use
$2.00 in dollar notes

Zipper change-pocket:
$.70 in coins
1 button that had come off a top a few weeks ago

You know, it is a good thing that I looked. I had almost forgotten about the Borders and Target gift cards. I also reminded myself to give away the half-used pizza punch cards that I never use anymore, sewed the button back on again and marveled at the extremely tiny sum that I carry around in cash. I also found a few scraps of paper with phone numbers on them that I promptly entered into my cell phone, and discarded.

There you go, you bloodthirsty, club-wielding Huns – now you know what’s in my wallet – and it’s not a CapitalOne card!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Forgotten Treasure

I just made the most delightful discovery! I was cleaning out a cupboard and came across a purse that I have not used in the last three years. I considered putting along with a collection of other things that I hope to sell at a yard sale in a few weeks’ time, but the purse is too pretty to sell. Anyway, I looked through the pockets and among other relics of myself three years ago, I found thirty-five dollars secreted away neatly in a small, almost-hidden pocket!!! I was in raptures and did a victory dance around my living room. I now have more money to add to my June Monthly Challenge!

It is amazing finding money when you don’t expect to see it there, and I am almost tempted to conceal another tidy little sum in some other secret cache to discover in another two years’ time – but I’ll probably remember it all along and it won’t really be the same thing.

P.S. I received a variety of important looking documents and an ATM card from my new HSBC Direct savings account. I’m quite impressed, and HSBC has convinced me that by banking with them, I am truly getting good value for my money. My old credit union savings account wasn’t half as fancy, and I feel quite the snob right now. :-)

Friday, June 27, 2008

Opened New HSBC Savings Account

I opened a new high-yeild online savings account with HSBC Direct. I transfered the measly $100 I have in my Credit Union savings account to it and plan on sending in my snowflakes to this account until I reach my $1000 goal. It offers 3.50% APY till Aug 2008, after which is it 3.45% APY. It does not require any minimum deposit and you can link your checking account from any other bank to this account for easy transfers of money. I shopped around for a bit and thought this was the best option out there.

P.S. The Customer Service number offers options for service in four different languages! Isn't that amazing? I feel quite satisfied with how multiculturally competent HSBC is!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Free Suze Orman e-book

Suze Orman's much read and applauded 274-page book, "Women and Money" costs $16.47 (Amazon.com), but you can download it free if you do so in the next few days (before Friday 06/27/08).

DOWNLOAD "Women and Money"

First Monthly Challenge Accomplished!

About a month and a half ago, I decided that I would challenge myself to find an extra $150 each month to add to my debt-repayment/savings goals. June was the first month, and I have surpassed my goal of $150 by a few dollars ($154.77). There are a few more days to go, but I wanted to share the great sense of achievement that I have right now. At the end of the month, I'll summarize how I made the money. You can also see the progress on my left side-bar. If only I had started the monthly challenge 2 years ago! I don't suppose I'll reach my target every month, but I'll keep trying... It's great fun to look around one to see where you could find money. In July, I am going to hold a garage sale, and hopefully that will help meet my July goal. :-)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Free Redbox DVD Rental

Hello All,

Here's a promotional code you can use to rent a redbox DVD FREE!! The code is not valid for much longer, so the sooner you use it up, the better:

EGIZER5

Enjoy!
~Azalea.

Friday, June 20, 2008

PayPerPost Approved

Yahoo! My first PayPerPost blog post got approved. That's $20 minus fees. I don't have the money yet, but will do in a few weeks time. Although I am excited, I am not qualified for any other opportunity on payperpost. Probably because I am a new blogger and am not connected/read very widely yet. Now, how do I get linked to others quickly?

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Now, Seriously!

Money seems to be wandering around looking for me. I said about a month ago that once you start looking for money, it seems to just keep coming to you - it's true: FINDING MONEY IS EASY ONCE YOU START LOOKING FOR IT. It practically falls into your lap apparently. Check this out - My major professor is working on a grant application and needs some extra help. She offered me an additional 5 hours of work/week for the Fall. Time-wise, this fall is going to be a tight semester, but with a bit of effort, it can be done. That would mean an additional $1200 after taxes over the whole semester! That would probably pay for my internship applications. I was dreading that expense. I love my major professor!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Random Thought: Online Surveys

Although I was initially skeptical about them, I find that the online surveys are quite an interesting and easy way to make some extra money. At first I thought it was too much work for too little money, but I have discovered that you just need to find the right survey companies. In the past two months I have made $43.40. Of this, I have $17.50 are locked in as points at GlobalTestMarket since you have to have a minimum of $50 with them in order to be able to cash out. But I still did get checks for the other $25.90.

The Economic Depression Might Be More Manageable Than We Think

Sometimes I wish I was not in the habit of watching the news three times a day – almost everything on CNN these days is extremely depressing news about the economy. Even the news coverage of the horrible Midwest floods frequently includes economically worrying information about how such major flooding in these agricultural states is going to negatively impact the economy. I feel a sense of depression settling on me. In several ways I am much better off than many others – I don’t have a house mortgage or stiflingly large student loans. However, I do have a low graduate assistant income and no full-time job for another two years, and who knows what the economy will look like then. And it appears that whichever way I turn, I am confronted with more depressing news about the economy. However, I found a very encouraging article on MSNBC Business – it’s about a year and three months old, but quite refreshing to read. I wonder if what he says isn't valid anymore…

*************************************************************
John W. Schoen
03/18/2007


Economists and officials like Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are correct in saying that — at this moment, today — the U.S. economy remains healthy. The question is what happens next, which no one, not even the sagest of economists, can predict. Economies are like mobs: they can get ugly, but you really can’t tell when or if the riot will start or how long it will last.

But a little perspective is in order. Some of us watching the current mortgage meltdown and stock market gyrations remember the real estate slide and stock market crash of the 1980s. (Others, including some of the younger mortgage brokers who made all these risky loans that are now going up in smoke, apparently weren’t around then.)

The lending problems in the 1980s — both in the savings and loan mortgage market and the junk bond mania on Wall Street — were much worse that anything we've seen so far today. When it was all over, more than 1,000 thrift institutions, holding $519 billion, had been closed down in the “greatest collapse of U.S. financial institutions since the 1930s,” according to a summary report by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

At the worst of the 1980s crunch, we heard respected forecasters talk about 50 percent drops in housing prices and dire predictions of impending economic doom. Bookshelves sprouted titles like “How to Prepare for the Coming Economic Collapse” complete with advice on stocking up on canned goods.

But when the dust settled, the depression of the 1990s didn’t happen. Yes, we had a fairly nasty recession in 90-91, the housing market unraveled (home prices fell somewhat or were flat for many years in some markets), major commercial developers went bust, Congress had to write a check for over $100 billion to clean up the mess, and some S&L cowboys who wrote junk bonds that weren't worth the paper they were printed on went to jail. Within a few years, the economy was back on its feet again. Within a decade, the Fed chairman was worrying out loud about “irrational exuberance.”

It’s often said that economic cycles, and the markets that finance them, swing between fear and greed. Today, with the “fear factor” on the ascendancy, it’s useful to consider the scale of economic devastation brought by the Great Depression. Between 1929 and 1933, U.S. Gross Domestic Product fell from $103.6 billion to $56.4 billion — a 46 percent contraction that took 10 years to retrace. By contrast, the 1990-91 recession that followed the late 1980s housing collapse lasted 8 months, and GDP dropped by about 1 percent.

You can never say never again, but there are a number of reasons to believe that the odds of seeing another contraction on the scale of the Great Depression in your lifetime are pretty remote. The 1930s actually produced two back-to-back contractions; since then, historians have unearthed a number of government and businesses mistakes that actually made things worse and prolonged the agony.

Those lessons learned may help explain why modern recessions tend to be shorter and shallower than the panics and busts of earlier economic upheavals. From 1854 to 1919, for example, there were 16 downturns lasting an average of 22 months, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. From 1919-1945, the average downturn lasted 18 months. From 1945-2001, the average recession lasted just 8 months.

While any recession is painful, recent downturns have been relatively mild by historical standards. One useful measure is the number of people who lose their jobs. In the recession of mid 1970s, the unemployment rate jumped from 4.6 percent to 9 percent. In the 1980-82 slump, the jobless rate shot up from 5.7 to 10.8 percent. In 1990-91 it went from 5.0 percent to 7.8 percent. In 2000, after falling to 3.8 percent, the jobless rate hit 6.3 percent in 2003 before dropping back to 4.5 percent today.

So before you buy a gun, fill your car with canned goods, and head for the woods – take a deep breath. The economy maybe headed for a rough patch. But it’s done so every ten years or so in our lifetime, worked out the problems that caused it to stumble, got up and dusted itself off, and went on its merry way. Your forecast is as good as mine. But, based on what’s going on today, we’re betting against a catastrophic, Hollywood-movie-style economic collapse.

*************************************************************

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Random Thought - Selling My Car

Sometimes I think I ought to sell my car. It's a lovely car and I've had it for less than a year. But selling it would save me monthly payments, insurance and gas. I could rent cars for travel like I used to do before I bought this car. It would cut my debt-repayment time by a year. And when I eventually get a job after graduating, I could buy a new Hybrid vehicle. I probably won't do it thought - I am too dependent on the car and cannot do without it for 2 years.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Good Riddance Chase Visa!

I just paid off my Chase Visa debt in FULL!! Using a combination of snowflaking and balance-transferring, I have managed to see the back of that horrible, oppressive and unmanageable debt. It will take a few days before the payment posts, but the account is already closed and I need not have anything else to do with that horrible company ever again. I hate Chase with a vengeance. And as I browse other PF blogs, I see that I am not alone in my loathing of the company. Every single Customer service representative of Chase that I have dealt with has been rude, offensive, obnoxious and desperately in need of a crash course in charm school. It’s almost as if every employee of the company has had special training in being nasty to customers.

When I first got my Chase Visa card, I was happy – it was at a 7.99% fixed APR and was easy to manage. I did run up huge bills on it – more than $5000, but I was making at least the minimum payments and cruising along. And then through a horrible oversight, I missed a payment when I was out of the country for three months. When I returned, I called them and asked them if they could reverse the late-fee. Now most places I know will excuse a one-time late payment – not Chase. They bumped my APR up to 24.24% variable, and did not reverse my late fee. Every time I called them to ask them to reduce my APR, they were horrible to me. One customer service rep even told me, “The way to keep your APR down is to make regular payments. It’s your fault you are in this mess.” Those were her exact words – I wrote them down in my diary so I would never forget! They are true, but I don’t think that’s an appropriate way to talk to your customers.

About a year later, I received a letter informing me of changes to my account. Among all the other changes in policy etc, there was a note that my APR was being bumped up to 32.99% variable! I had no clue why – I had been making all my payments on time and had not messed anything else up. I called Chase again to find out why. The customer service person this time said it was because I had a high debt and since I was only making the minimum payments, there was a good chance that I might soon default on the account. I was left speechless – if they thought I was running up too much debt to make even the minimum payments, why in the world were they trying to speed up that process?? I did not see how they profited from this. It was only much later that a friend of mine in the finance field told me that they did it because they probably thought that I was a “good bet” – a graduate student who has been making payments and calling often to try and see how I could pay the whole thing off – they knew I was dedicated to returning their money, so they thought they could add on some more money since I was probably going to pay it off anyway. The only way I could get off this hike in APR was to close the account, which I gladly did. I had no desire to use Chase anymore.

A few months ago, I redoubled my efforts to get out of debt. I started calling Chase again. After several rounds of calling, as usual lots of rude customer service reps (one of them even hung up on me when I asked to be connected with her supervisor), placing requests for reduced APRs and several rounds of such requests being rejected, I was not making any progress at all. One stupid Chase employee I talked with even suggested that I transfer my balances to a lower interest card – how in the world did he think that would be to Chase’s advantage? I wonder what Chase would have thought of that!

During this time, I was making several attempts at getting lower interest cards to transfer my Chase balance to. I either got rejected because of my high debt:income ratio, or got cards with miniscule balances until I finally scored with my Advanta card. And now, I am free of the horrible Chase Visa debt. I SHALL NEVER EVER AGAIN BE A CHASE CUSTOMER! And that is even if I get an unbeatable offer from Chase – their rude and ridiculous service isn’t worth any small financial gain their cards can offer.

GOOD RIDDANCE CHASE VISA! I HATE YOU!!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Fifteen Mangoes

I love Indian food. Three is no other food that makes me quite as happy as Indian food. Consequently, I cook a lot of it. I am vegetarian, and the variety of vegetables used in Indian cooking is positively astounding. Unfortunately, Indian vegetables are not easy to come by. Anyway, I was at the local international grocery store yesterday since it was vegetable-restocking day and I wanted to be in early so I could get my pick of veggies. I bought fresh Indian chillies, tapioca, plantains and colocasia taro (which I have not eaten in four long years, and so was very excited to see them at the store). I had come early in the hopes that I would find raw mangoes with which I planned on making spicy and savory mango-coconut chutney. Raw mangoes are practically unavailable in the US - even mangoes that look green have slightly ripe insides - the sharply sour Indian mangoes are nowhere to be found. However, I was ready to make do with even the reddish green ones if they appeared firm and raw. But there were none. The owner of the international store was very apologetic. He said that he still had almost a whole box left over from the week before because no one wanted them. I didn't either, and so he said he'd throw the lot away. I asked him not to - horrified at the thought of all those mangoes going to waste. And then he offered them to me. For free.

Needless to say, I took them. I brought the lot home, peeled, sliced and cubed the lot and packed the pieces into individual Ziploc bags and stored them all in my freezer. Over the next few months, they will be cooked - with lentils, yogurt, coconut milk and other yummy foods. And although I hadn't planned on spending the money on buying so many mangoes, I estimate I saved about $15 on them. :-)

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I've Confused Myself

I have been keeping elaborate records of everything that I am spending, saving, wasting, making and so on. I confused myself yesterday because of all this complicated record keeping and made a payment too large towards my Chase Visa, and somehow didn't count for a $60 automatic payment. I'll be fine with a little juggling of money, but it's all too much effort. So yesterday, I pared down my overly complicated record-keeping a bit. I still keep track of everything, but in a simpler manner. In terms of what I show on my blog, it doesn't make much difference except to the Monthly Challenge. I've decided to do make the time period of the challenge one regular month at a time as opposed to the 15th - 15th, I had originally planned. So I sent off the May challenge amount towards debt, and updated the Monthly Challenge Bar to reflect only my June snowflakes.

I will receive some money later this month that I can use to pay off the remaining of my Chase Visa balance. I think that after that I shall channel all Monthly Challenge money towards my freedom account until it reaches $1000. Talking about snowflakes, I listed a 24" Weber charcoal grill (that the previous tenant of my apartment had left behind) on Craigslist for $15. I have someone coming to look at it today. I hope he buys it... more money is always great. :-)

UPDATE: The man did not buy my grill. He was into competition barbeques (never knew such a thing existed), and did not think my grill would match his needs. Hopefully with the summer just starting, others will be interested.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Random Thought - Economic Stimulus

Rumors of a new economic stimulus check are floating around. I feel rather horrible saying this - despite the pitiable, debt-laden state the U.S. economy is in, I would very much like to get a second stimulus check to add towards my own debt reduction.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Online Survey Cash

I got paid for taking online surveys. I never thought I'd actually get to
cash out, but today I received two checks - $10 from Opinion Outpost, and $3 from Pinecone Research. $13 more dollars to go towards my first Monthly Challenge. I find that I spend a lot more time trying to qualify for online surveys that actually taking ones I qualify for. However, getting paid is wonderful. I probably spent way too much time for a $13 compensation, but getting this money was wonderfully sweet! In addition to the ones I already mentioned, other online survey sites that I recommend are: MyPoints and Global Test Market. I haven't tried too many others, but I believe that there are some really good options out there. I love making money like this - if only I got paid all the time for my opinions!

Friday, June 6, 2008

Dog-Sitting Cash

Yay! I landed my first job in the Baby/Pet/House Sitting/Walking job. When I applied for the baby-sitting job that paid too little, I asked a friend whose children I occasionally baby-sit (for free, since I love the kids) for a reference. I think she was a little taken aback by my looking for side-jobs, but obliged by giving me reference. Now, a week and a half later, she asked if I would like to dog-sit for her while she and her family go camping with friends this weekend. I wanted to do it for free for her, but she insisted that she would pay me. She said she'd pay me $8/day which is just under what the kennel charges apparently, and I agreed. Aren't people supportive and sweet? Everyone's always trying to help out - I've found so many people so receptive to this money saving/making journey I am on. So, the little doggie (she's only a few months old, and a real sweetheart) got dropped off at my place last night. And I'll have $24/- more to put towards my monthly challenge come next week. :-)

I watched the news today about the skyrocketing oil prices - shooting up once again. Oil is at $134.67 nearing an all-time high of $135.09. Gas prices are bound to follow suit. My sister has borrowed my car for a month, so I'm commuting by bus and walking a great deal more and I really don't miss having to pour huge amounts of money into my gas tank. Maybe once I get the car back next month, I'll continue doing what I am doing now. I'd sell my car to help reduce payments and debt, but I use it so often to travel that I sure hanging on to it is a better idea than hiring rental cars each time. Oh well... it's progress that is my goal, not perfection.

P.S. I sold some DVD's on Amazon and added the money towards my May-June monthly challenge which is now at $185.79, which is way above my goal amount. I have fully-funded my first monthly challenge with one week still to go. I didn't think I could do it, but have - and the feeling is delicious! In another week, all that money goes to pay half of my Chase Visa debt.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I Joined PayPerPost !!!

My Blog just got approved for payperpost. I am very excited. PayPerPost (PPP) is an exciting service that offers bloggers money to blog. I first heard about it through some of the blogs I frequent. I also watched testimonial videos on YouTube about how wonderful PPP is. I was skeptical at first about it – “Yeah right! You just get paid money to do what you like – there must be a catch”. Shady and cynical thoughts along those lines raced through my mind. But everyone seemed to be raving about it, and I decided to do some additional research. I read testimonials on several other blogs, looked through the various blog forums and communities and so on. I was astonished to see that everyone without exception seemed to really like PPP. So, I decided to join it – and am happy about this decision. So from now on, I shall periodically be featuring paid reviews on my blog!

Here is how PPP works – It’s simple beyond measure. If you’re a blogger, you sign up for PPP, they approve your blog, you avail of advertising opportunities listed on PPP and review or write about products etc., your post is approved, and then, just like that, YOU GET PAID! But beyond just getting paid, I have found PPP extremely useful in a variety of different ways. I also discovered several exciting and new blogs through the PPP site. PPP’s website is very functional and easy to navigate. And what’s most exciting to me are the forums. The PPP forums are full of bloggers – it’s a great place to meet other bloggers and discuss almost anything under the sun with them. The participants of the forums are wonderful – welcoming, helpful and always ready to help or advice. There is also a great sense of camaraderie and community on the PPP forums. And this has been my experience of only a few days – I look forward eagerly to all the PPP delights I haven’t discovered yet. Having fun and earning lots of money to help eliminate my debt and start saving – what else could be as perfect??



Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A New Outlook

The cooking at home challenge failed on Day 1 - I ended up buying a sandwich for $3.75 at the cafeteria because I was lazy and slow and did not have time to pack lunch for today. This shall not happen tomorrow. I did cook a bunch of dishes yesterday, so I have homemade food ready for a few days. On Friday, I am dining with a friend at an all-you-can-eat buffet, but it won't cost much since we have coupons for $4.00 dinners each. And on Saturday, a friend is taking me out to a posh restaurant to eat - and I won't have to pay. On all other days, I lunch and dine on the concoctions of my own labor!

I have something quite exciting to share - I have been blogging only for a month now, and watching my spending only for a few months. Yesterday, as I walked down the grocery aisle (on an empty stomach too), I saw so many items that would have tempted me in my pre-frugal days, but which no longer held any attractions for me. I saw packets of potato crisps, donut holes and other yummy looking processed food and felt no yearning to purchase or consume any of them. I also saw other non-eatable erstwhile tempters, and kept thinking, "Who in their right minds would pay $... for THAT!?!?" Needless to say, I walked out with only what I had intended on getting. I hadn't expected to see such dramatic changes in my attitude so quickly. But, isn't it lovely?

Monday, June 2, 2008

Cooking At Home Challenge

Payday rolled around, and I have less money than usual since my contract for May was only a half-month contract. So, I have decided to implement something that I have tried often but never succeeded in - cook and eat at home everyday! I have lots of stuff in my pantry and if I wisely plan meals and shop for the basics only, I will be able to pull through the summer without any trouble. Also, I had loaned my sister $350/- which she will return sometime this month. With that, and my May-June Challenge money, I should be able to pay off my Chase Visa debt and still have my head above water.

As a side note - I did not take the baby-sitting job that paid $2.5/hr. :-)

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Lowest Pay I Ever Got Offered

I met with a couple today about babysitting their child over the summer. They were a sweet couple and the child was adorable! Everything seemed to be going well - I thought things were going better than I expected, because they were looking for someone to babysit approximately 32 hrs/week (could be more or less), and I was thinking - wow, that's almost like a full-time job - the pay will be worth it. They told me that they would pay a flat weekly rate rather than an hourly rate. And then they offered me $80/week. at 32 hrs/week, that is $2.50/hr - about one-third the minimum wage ($7.25 in this state)!! I was completely taken aback - I pointed to them that the hourly pay was way too low and they asked me what I would be willing to take. Unfortunately, the shock had blurred my mind and I said I'd think about it. I would love to work with them - they seemed so lovely, and I would like the money - but I can't do it at that pay. I had initially thought $8-$10/hr. Nearly 4 times as much as they were offering. Should I negotiate to minimum wage? That would be approximately $900/month for 2 summer months. Is it worth it? I am almost at the point where I want to give up the idea. What do you think? Any feedback is appreciated!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Some More Money

My sister used my referral for RME. I got the $10 referral bonus, and she also gave me her $25 sign in bonus. Isn't she sweet? So altogether, I now have $60 free from Revolution Money Exchange. I'm so glad I signed up for it. You can too - please use the button on the left panel to do so. It will help me out too and I will appreciate that very much.

Today, I started doing cleaning, garden and maintenance work around my apartment building for $50 off rent. The pros are - I get reduced rent, it's good exercise, I like it. The cons are - I could be engaged in more intellectually stimulating work, I'm spending way too much time for the $50 off.

My May-June challenge is coming along nicely. With some Amazon.com sales, the RME money, and soon my reduced rent, I'll easily hit the mark. I also have been advertising online for baby/pet/house-sitting. In a small college town like mine, I imagine it is hard to come by such work - especially in the summer. However, one couple contacted me and I am going to meet with them and see if I can babysit their daughter. If this works out, I can count on another $60/month hopefully. Wish me luck!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

New Credit Card Update

I got it!!! The 0% APR (15 months, 7.99% after) credit card that I had applied for came through. Credit limit $5000. This allows me to transfer most of my Chase Visa balance. I'll be out of the stupid Chase Visa debt in two months now. And then I shall NEVER EVER apply for or own a Chase card. I HATE CHASE VISA! I love my new Advanta Mastercard!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Rent Reduction Update

Update from my previous post Reduce Your Rent. I had a meeting with my landlady today about what needs to be done around the yard and garden of the building I stay in. I have to weed, prune, get rid of winter’s rubbish, prop up garden gnomes that topple in the wind, put out the trash each week, rake leaves and other such stuff. It seems like it would be more work in the beginning, but that once the preliminary weeding and pruning is done, it won’t be as much work. And I get $50 off my rent in order to do that. The second part of the contract is showing my neighbor’s apartment to prospective tenants for a bonus of $200. Over the summer months, I estimate that this way, I’ll get a total reduction of about $450 in my rent until winter begins. Not bad, aye?

It’s all settled and I am looking forward to it – especially the bit that has to do with gardening. I love gardening! And guess what I found today as I was scoping out the weeds and voluntary plants? I found a whole patch of garlic chives that I initially thought was grass. That will spice up my food – an added bonus. And I think I’ll put mint in the ground and let it run riot! It will get the place smelling beautiful, and also I’ll put it in oodles of my food! Yummy!

P.S. Since I can now save an additional $50/month at least for a few months, I am increasing my "Monthly Challenge" amount to $150.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Guru - Online Freelancing

Today was a no-spend day. Yay! I also sold a book on Amazon and now have $21.75 to add to my monthly challenge fund! It has been a good day.

Like I have talked about before, once you start looking for money, it seems to appear all over the place. Well, maybe not the money itself, but the opportunities to make money certainly do. And that gives me hope that if I keep looking, I eventually will be able to make some extra money. I came across a website: Guru.com. This is a freelance website – people can offer their freelance services to others in a variety of different areas: legal, design, marketing etc. I signed up for it yesterday, and here’s my impression of it so far:

How it works:
You sign up and make a profile that indicates what sort of freelance service you are offering. You can create more than one profile, and can search for projects that fit your profile (employers post projects that require specific skills etc.) Guru will also email you when a new project that fits your skills is posted. Once you review the project and think that you can do it, you submit a proposal and place a bid stating how much you would charge for the project. Once the bidding closes, the employer picks a bid and if your bid gets chosen, then you get notified and can start communicating with the employer to discuss the details. Guru uses SafePay Escrow and you get paid once the project gets completed. They take 5% of the payment as a commission, and 10% if you are a non-paying member. As a paying member you get to place as many as 100 bids/month and as a non-paying member you get 10 bids/month.

Now the cons:
The membership is expensive - $74.95 (Quarterly) and $149.95 (Annual). This is more expensive if you are a vendor. If you aren’t a paying member, the percentage of projects you can bid on is miniscule. That’s all the cons I have experienced in two days.

And the pros:
This website offers work to people all over the world. Since most of the communication is done over the internet (and maybe the phone in a few instances), the freelancer does not need to be located in the US, and can still get paid. There are several thousands of projects available that you can bid on. Guru emails you when a matching project is found, and the website is easy to navigate.

I placed two bids totaling $110. That is $99 after Guru’s commission. I’m not sure if I will get picked, but I certainly hope so. If I find enough freelance work here, I might upgrade my membership and become a paying member. We’ll see. And even if it turns out that I am not paid, it feels really good to know that there is such stuff out there, and it motivates me to keep looking.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Textbook Blues and Pink Folders

I started teaching for the summer today. Being an instructor is financially fun because you don’t get charged for the textbooks – the publisher’s rep just sends you a free desk copy. I have loads of instructors’ textbooks – no different from the regular textbooks other than the fact that they have “Instructor Copy” printed on the cover, or stamped on the fly-leaf. These are books that I could sell to reel in several hundreds of dollars. I wish so much I could bring myself to sell them, but I can’t. It is not illegal or anything, but if I do so, I contribute to raising the cost of student textbooks. And I cannot bring myself to do that. I know how hard it is to shell out good money at the beginning of every semester to buy textbooks – and I will not add to other students’ financial burdens in order to ease my own.

Not that some students mind shelling out money! As a 28-year old graduate student, I suppose I am more mature than most of the population in my small college-town. However, immaturity itself cannot be the sole factor in the reckless expenditure of most of my fellow students. I see people spend money on what I now think is the most ridiculous stuff – closets overstuffed with clothes, shoes, bags and other accessories that match them, $5 - $7 on “weight loss smoothies”, premium gym memberships when there are fiver perfectly well equipped gyms on campus, not to mention other sports facilities – and unnecessary trimmings on bags, folders etc. It has to be more than immaturity – vanity, maybe. I am chiding myself for saying all this because what got me into credit card debt in the first place was partly my own frivolity and vanity (and other unavoidable stuff too). Anyway, I just benefitted from one such frivolous act of another student’s spending. One of my students a few semesters ago turned in a portfolio of a semester’s worth of work – in a really lush and fancy pink leather folder with really fancy section dividers and additional folder pockets. I guess she must have spent nearly $15 on the thing. She has not bothered to pick it up in nearly two years now, so I suppose she has decided she doesn’t need it back. So, I took the pages out and turned the lovely thing into a financial folder for myself – it cost me absolutely nothing, and it brightens up the ugliness of my financial situation. :-)

Sunday, May 18, 2008

New Credit Card

I am amazed! For a year now, I have been trying to transfer my high APR% Chase Visa (24.24%) balance to a lower balance card. However, the past few tries, I was rejected because I had high balances on my card and my Debt:Income ratio was very high. I felt quite frustrated about this... it seemed like it seemed impossible to get out of debt even when I tried. A few weeks ago, I read on another PF Blog (I forget which, and so cannot give them credit) that one could apply for a business card by just entering one's own name in place of the business name. Today, while browsing BankRate.com, I decided to try it - and got approved instantly! I have never been approved instantly online for any credit card I have ever applied for. They always say that they will contact me after reviewing the account, and so I was doubly amazed when I got such a quick answer. I don't know what amount I got approved for, although I asked for $4500 to be transferred. They said they would mail the card within 3 days, so I should know by the end of the week how much of my Chase-load has been eased. If they approve the whole amount, then I will save $1500 in the long run. Please God, I will get approved for the amount I asked for!

It's an Advanta Platinum Business Card with Rewards. Here are the stats on the card:

* 0% APR for 15 Months, 7.99% APR thereafter.
* Up to 5% Cash Back on office supplies, gas etc.
* No Annual Fee and No Limit on Earnings.


Please pray that they'll give me a credit line large enough to transfer my horrible Chase Visa balance over.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Monthly Challenge

Over the past few months I have been an avid reader of several personal finance blogs. People are so creative when trying to reduce debt and increase net worth. I think I shall adopt several of these ideas in my debt-reduction journey as well. The first idea I shall adopt is a monthly challenge that I found on MevsDebt's Blog. This is how it works. I challenge myself to find an additional sum of money to pay towards my debt each month. I’ll set a goal of $100. And I track my progress towards that $100 as I get money. Each month I review what happens so my readers can see how I got there. Amanda at MevsDebt also offers to text-link a webpage on her progress sheet for a month for $2.00. I shall do the same once I update my PayPal account which I have not accessed in several years.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Reduce Your Rent

I said in a recent post that money is easy to come by when you look around for it. That has been proved true - again! I called my landlady and asked her if she would agree to knock some money off my rent in exchange for yard-work, trimming bushes and other general maintenance around the building. My neighbor is moving out in August and I also offered to help with the cleaning after he leaves. I was hoping that she'd knock off about $30-$35 per month over the summer. This would be a godsend because I don't get paid my regular salary over the four summer months, and any reduced bills are very welcome. Anyway, she said she'd think about it. That was a few days ago. She called me back today. And she offered to knock $50 off my rent per month for yard-work! And she said if I'd show prospective tenants my neighbor's apartment and got someone to sign on, she would give me $200!!! Now isn't that wonderful? All that money will go towards paying off my dreadful Chase Visa debt.

P.S. I came out of my vacation spending less than $150 (excluding airfare). And that's definitely an achievement for me. :-)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Vacations and Frugality

Vacations and frugality do not go at all well together. When one is on vacation, one is called to spend huge more money than one usually would. I am staying with friends for five days - these days involve outings, excursions, shopping and eating out. And all that involves spending money. I have been very careful with the outflow of cash, but have not been able to resist buying my hosts lunch, dinner and some gifts. I shall be glad to be back home and in my non-spendthrift mode.

I checked online. I made a few more sales on Amazon. It looks like my Amazon sales are paying for this vacation – but I did so want that money to go toward my summer funds!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Stimulus Check Deposited

A stimulus check of $600 has been deposited in my account. I love the government – it’s giving away free money. Now, my plan had been to apply all of this money towards my Chase Visa card debt. But since this is summer, and I don’t get paid very much, I will probably end up using the stimulus money to stimulate the economy – like the government wants me to. Incidentally, I saw on the news yesterday that economic analysts say that with the skyrocketing gas prices, $600 of additional expenditure by each person is hardly likely to give the economy the boost that it needs. Be that as it may, I am still glad about this money. Hopefully I’ll end up not having to use it anyway. I will spend as little as possible and if I still have any money left over at the end of September (the first month of full pay I will receive after the summer), then it’ll go directly towards paying off my high-interest Chase Visa balance.

I am away on vacation, and I managed to steer clear of the airport shops – no books or snacks bought. And before I left home, instead of buying a soda-pop on the way, I brought some iced-tea with me. I’m quite good at this when I put my mind to it!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Get Paid for Online Surveys

I think online surveys are a brilliant idea. I am a student psychologist - and I know how important self-reported surveys can be in psychological research. I imagine that this is even more so the case with market research. When I collect data, I would gladly offer people money to take the survey if I had the funding for it, but unfortunately I don't. But the huge companies do - and they pay good money to people who will tell them how to make their product better and more marketable. Yesterday I signed on at four different online survey websites:

* American Consumer Opinion
* Global Test Market
* MySurvey, and
* Opinion Outpost


So far, I've been offered two surveys. I finished one, but while taking the other, I hit the back browser button and messed the survey up and so was unable to finish it. But the one survey has earned me $10. It took me about a quarter of an hour to complete. If only I got paid at work at such a rate!! I also have a few random points on the websites for taking profile surveys. Technically, on most sites I can cash out once I earn $5. However, I think I will wait till the end of the month - $10 in a day. I wonder how many I'll get this month. Four sounds like a good number. I hope I earn at least $40/-.

I'm going on vacation for a week. Not sure how this will affect my budget, money-tracking or money-making, but hopefully it will all turn out to be okay.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Money All Around

Once you start looking around for money, it seems to be remarkably easy to come by. Since yesterday, I have made $202.87!!! Amazon is wonderful – I love it. I sold 4 books and 3 DVDs in one day! And these are books that I don’t read anymore, and DVDs that I don’t watch anymore. That totaled $147.87. I’ll have spend money to mail the stuff out, but it’ll all be media mail and so not very expensive anyway. I have more listings on Amazon – so hopefully I’ll sell more. Amazon has high commissions – but the speed and the consumer base is stupendous. Also, unlike eBay and PayPal transactions, you can cash-out free of charge.

This is finals week at my school and graduate students often have to proctor exams for undergraduates. Now, a friend of mine who was scheduled to invigilate had some studying of her own to do and I subbed for her. She gave me $30 for an hour and a half. I also cashed out my $25 sign-in bonus on Revolution Money Exchange. (You can sign on too and get $25 free just for signing on – check the link on the right sidebar). And all that is a total of $202.87. Not bad for one day! Now why didn't I think of doing this before???

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Selling Stuff Online

I began making a list of items to sell online today. Books mainly - I have a lot of them. It's the academic books that people usually buy at high prices - I have fewer of these that I want to sell off than my fiction books which are much harder to move. Most people when raising money sell on eBay. I thought of that, but I've had bad experiences both selling and buying on eBay and am a bit eBay-shy. However, I am in the process of trying to conquer that fear in order to raise money. I began by listing ten books on amazon.com. Amazon has wonderful guidelines and standards and I have always had good experiences with it. So I will start there for now. I also have a lot of other unwanted junk that I believe people online are eager to buy.

At some point this summer I also plan on having a garage sale. Hopefully I will raise some money through that as well. But again, I don’t think I have the sort of stuff that sells at high prices – it’s the kid’s clothes and toys that sell for good money. I also listed a charcoal grill on Craigslist. I listed it at $15.00, all of which will be a profit since the grill was handed down to me by the previous renter of my apartment. No bites yet. I’m hoping and praying that people will soon want to take some stuff off my hands and lighten their wallets a little in my favor.

Update - 2 hrs later: That was fast! I sold one book already on Amazon - $31.39 after estimated shipping costs and Amazon commission. This is wonderful. I also listed 5 DVDs. I hope lots of people buy stuff from me. :-)

Monday, May 5, 2008

Welcome

Hello Dear Reader,

This past New Year, I resolved to reduce my debt. I have a stupendous amount (or what seems like a lot) of credit card, and car loan debt. I was not at that point sure what to resolve to. It was a vague "I-want-to-reduce-my-debt" at the time. But this is what I wanted at the time:

* Be credit-card debt free ($16,728.19)
* Pay off my car loan ($10,095.17)
* Have a $1,500 emergency savings fund ($0 currently)


Now don’t get me wrong, I have other goals too, related to retirement, investing, travel funds and property-buying. However, being a graduate student with limited financial resources, I limit myself to these goals for now. I will eventually expand.

My goal is to have all this under control in three years time. This is a lofty goal given that I am a graduate student who is a full-time student, and works 20 hrs a week on a 9-month work-contract. After tax is withheld, I get a measly $1,219.89 per month. This money goes into payment of rent, car, credit-card minimum payments (I can't afford more, but hope to change this), groceries, gas, phone, and other stuff. I would gladly work more if I could, but can't for reasons that can't be overcome, and that limits my income.

Not having a detailed plan at the time, this is the progress I made in 4 months –

* Credit-Card Debt : $15,886.50 (- $841.69)
* Car Loan : $9,283.87 (- $811.30)
* Emergency Savings : $105.00 (+ $105.00)


How did I achieve this? The answer is – I am not sure! However, a few things that I changed since 01/01/2008 are:

* I kept track of every single cent I spent
* I eat out less often now
* I cancelled my Netflix subscription
* I downgraded my cell-phone plan
* I did not charge anything new to my credit cards


Then, around early April, I began seriously investigating debt management. I read several PF blogs, met with a financial counselor, asked my parents to lend me some money and paid off three smaller credit card balances. I also created a very elaborate spreadsheet that helps me budget, track expenditure, bill payments, debt repayments and the progress made. Then I decided to start a blog myself and be accountable. This blog is my attempt at managing my personal finances and being debt-free eventually. Since I will be a student for two-and-a-half more years, progress will be slow and painful. I imagine that cataloging my own expenditure and income in such a public way would also be painful. But I think I would like to feel the pain. It might make success that much more sweet!

Here is a chart of what I have accomplished money-wise so far:


* Please note that the chart tracks my progress starting 04/01/2008

It is terribly painful to see myself make such infinitesimal changes each month. At times I think I ought to give up until I get a job and worry about all this then. But since just making the minimum payments on my credit cards wipes out most of my money, managing my finances is very important. The greatest virtue I must own now is patience.

Amat victoria curam!

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